Memphis, Tenn
Healthy Memphis Common Table’s Million Calorie Reduction Match population health project is a collaboration among many partners to address the diet and exercise habits of the citizens of City of Memphis and Shelby County, TN to address a local obesity epidemic. The policies advanced by the project are aimed at transforming the food and physical activity environments in multiple organizations and community...
Health is a major concern for the majority of the stakeholders in both Shelby County and the City of Memphis. Changes are not made overnight, however, the City of Memphis is on a journey to mobilize Greater Memphis to becoming one of the healthiest cities in the nation. The County Health Rankings, recently released by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, help us to see how where we live, learn, work and play influences our health. ...
Sixty percent of Memphis is African American. If you are an African American and live in Memphis, you are three to five times more likely to have your leg amputated due to complications from diabetes than if you are white. On average, African American patients are hospitalized for a heart attack nine years earlier than white patients and are hospitalized for heart failure 15 years earlier. These startling health inequalities and more are contained in Healthy Memphis Common Table’s (HMCT)...
The Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative in Memphis is led by Healthy Memphis Common Table (HMCT). The organization was established in 2003 as a result of a community-wide forum calling for the creation of an organization to coordinate health improvement activities throughout Memphis. Its mission is to support and encourage people to work together to ultimately make Memphis one of the healthiest cities in America! HMCT brings together key stakeholders such as consumers, health care providers, insurers, employers, government, advocacy groups, schools, universities, civic groups and neighborhoods. More than 200 partner organizations have joined HMCT’s efforts. Its initiatives include reducing obesity, diabetes, reducing disparities in health care, helping consumers understand what quality care is and more. Convincing all Memphis-area residents to live healthier lifestyles is a huge task, but HMCT is up to the challenge. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recognized HMCT as a promising national model for a regional health collaborative.